All he wanted was to fall asleep... to close his eyes and disappear, just like a feather on a wing, like a candle about to burn out.
He simply wanted to stop hearing that damned dog call his name, simply watch as those creatures he was born with were taken from his life. He wanted to tear out their voices, let his rage die, and lie there on his cradle of moonlight, resting well.
And maybe... die later.
Let heaven and earth be stained with poppy red, and his vision turn to pale lilac, to die silently at the claws of his master and almighty god. For the purple feline, it would be a one-way ticket, far from that damned hell he once, in his now-lost childhood, considered home. Playtime Co. was nothing more than a nauseating, repellent prison. Adults saw the buildings and heard laughter, but the poor tortured souls like him only heard cries.
During the day, Catnap played with the children like a circus bear, trapped in an artificial facade alongside his companions and those odious smiling anomalies that to him were nothing more than freakish intrusions on his peace.
His hatred for that damned mangy dog and the rest of those colorful animals had become the reason for his obsession. They didn't want him. He knew that to Bobby Bearhug, Hoppy Hopscotch, Kicken Chicken, Bubba Bubbaphant, Craftycorn, and Picky Piggy, he was just a weakling who should never be awakened.
When Theo was still there, he could hear it—a voice in his head that promised him love, mercy, and protection. The doctors in the factory thought he was delusional, maybe just an imaginary friend. It had told him it was like those superior beings in which adults and other children believed, a prototype of God. No body, no light.
He trembled when it spoke, assuring him that he would feel nothing once he fell.
Now that he was that creature with the eternal smile, nothing could wake him.
Sweet dreams were what Catnap lived for, his furry body curled up on that golden moon that hung from the ceiling, just like his purple tail. His eyes remained closed, the bones of his spine embedded in his thin back rising and falling as he tried to sleep. Sweet dreams for him were made of screams, of the pleas of those employees in white coats who destroyed his body and with millions of needles, broke his bones and stitched him together into that hideous circus freak. It was the only thing he thought about when the sun set and the night crept in through the glass roof above the nursery. The cries and screams of those dreaming orphans were his lullaby.
Sometimes, when he started to snore, he could hear his God, his leader, speaking to him, assuring him that everything would end, that he just had to obey, just had to wait. Soon, he would give the order, and with the others, they would start an unrivaled feast, a revenge for all those tears and for that day when they stole his humanity. And under his command, Catnap would lead them.
However, that night, those smiling friends didn't seem interested in closing their eyes and sleeping. From his bed inside the waning moon, his ears could catch Dogday leading the pack in laughter as they rolled on the ground to play. He tried to ignore them and let himself be carried away by the darkness, but it didn't work. They were starting to drive him mad.
Slowly, he stretched out his thin paws, and his claws began to tear at the sheets. He suddenly jumped to the ground, and once there, he let out muffled meows. He started to walk toward where the smiling creatures were, who were enjoying the night so much they didn't notice his presence. The blonde teacher and one of her many sisters were sitting on a bench, resting from grading papers. As they ate a cheesecake made by their own students in another sister's cooking class, Miss Delight froze when she saw the feline pass by without noticing her or her sister. She could hear his cold growl as he headed toward his prey, which only made her drop everything, grab the other teacher by the arm, and rush into the school as fast as possible.
On the small hill, the red bear and the pink pig were tickling each other, scratching unintentionally as they tumbled over one another. It was nothing but laughter and fun, a perfect moment to release the stress after a day of work. But that session of joy ended abruptly when their bodies were covered by a dark and menacing shadow. The two looked up, feeling whatever they had in their chests sink deep. The rest of the creatures turned to see, their smiles withering. They called his name, but when they got no response, they began to beg for forgiveness and mercy for interrupting his nap. Now there was only terror. DogDay remained still as he watched his old friend there.
Picky Piggy got up as best she could and ran off to join the other smiling creatures... Bobby, however, as she tried to stand and run too, felt thick, sharp claws pierce her leg and pull her toward the purple feline. Warm dark crimson spilled onto the grass, a tiny, sharp whimper escaping the bear's lips as she now crawled like a worm on the ground, silently pleading for her freedom with tears.
Catnap looked at his dear colleagues for a moment before using his other claws to grab the bear's head and lift her, bringing her closer before a thick cloud of red smoke came out of her abuser's mouth, and all that was left were the desperate cackles that ended in screams.
If the employees passed by that path, they might find him resting comfortably among the bodies of the smiling creatures, who, by giving him peace to sleep, now found themselves in their dreams, crying in horror as they faced their most terrifying nightmares.